Malicious Grind: From the Bowels of El Segundo

January 23, 2008

Though they surfaced during a time when the grindcore term was just beginning to be tossed around, suburban L.A. act Malicious Grind was a relentless crossover monster in the vein of D.R.I., S.O.D., and maybe Cryptic Slaughter. The loose energy and low-res garage production obscure how much this is a pretty powerful band, jetting between fast blasts of 1987 speed like “Fasterspaz” and ultra-crunchy mosh parts like the catchy “Stupid Cops.” (Not just the police feel the heat–they also stick it to some guy called “Ronald Reagan.”)

MxGx released an umpteen-song LP in 1988 with future Man Is the Bastard squealer Eric Wood on lead vocals, but this tape finds them a frantic trio, with alternating male and female voices on the mic. (Ingrid Baumgart from Flipside scene darlings Bulimia Banquet plays bass.) Likewise, the demo jumps on guitar whammy sweeps back and forth between crunchy metallic crossover and generic ’80s hardcore. The band’s centerpiece, the five-and-a-half-minute instrumental jam riff orgy “Malicious Grind” is epic!

While I was dubbing this demo, coincidentally Ingrid got in touch after hearing Insecticide on my Bloody Roots show on Sirius. She added a funny detail: “We opened up for Nuclear Assault and Verbal Abuse–and we were banned from Hollywood clubs for our fans doing pits before pits were acceptable!”

Go to cdbaby.com for tracks from their LP and to read a couple old reviews from MaximumRocknroll and Thrasher. Note to Tribe Called Quest: If your wallet turns up, we’ll call you.

They also turn up on the “Always Catchin’ Snot In The Wind” comp LP (they have the opening track) and keep company with troublemakers like Fuck It (theme song “Fuck It”), Malicious Grind (“Self-Destruct”), Maniacal Genocide (the perfectly-titled “That Pissed Me Off”), The Douche Lords (the questionably-titled “Slay the Gay”), and the ‘i’-deprived Mortis (“Watcha Do To Me”).